Pentagon official Pete Hegseth issued a stern warning to Tehran, stating that President Donald Trump is not joking when he issues threats. “Iran has a choice. Choose wisely, because this president does not joke, you can see what happened to Soleimani or Maduro,” Hegseth said.
He referenced Qassem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC who was killed in 2020 during Trump’s first term, and Nicolás Maduro, the former Venezuelan president, who was captured in Caracas by U.S. forces in January and subsequently transferred to the United States. “The Iranian military is disgraced and rightly so,” Hegseth added.
President Trump is scheduled to hold a briefing on the ongoing conflict with Iran, with anticipated key points including an expected increase in the number of attacks since the beginning of the operation.
